One simple question about buying gold and silver

[eyegots2no]

Sorry folks---do not take this wrong---but buying precious metals is really dumb.

1. Buying such is just speculating--you are doing just that---speculating- You can speculate on anything but it is a big gamble---there is no sure thing and you probably can't afford to lose.

2. It will not be a good fiat money type of exchange when the "s hits the fan." You can't split it up properly,----you can't eat it etc,----no one will want it----and.....

3. You'd be better off with LEAD---if you know what I mean. You can protect your goats/wheat, or, take somebody else's.

 

[RJJ 1971]

Sorry folks---do not take this wrong---but buying precious metals is really dumb.

You'd be better off with LEAD---if you know what I mean. You can protect your goats/wheat, or, take somebody else's.

Now that's a precious metal.

 

[pharmer]

Metals are about like guns, durable but not great investments. Upside is you get to keep something tangible long after the cash would be gone. I bought this about 35 years ago for $760 ($720+$40 assay fee). Been up to over $40/oz twice in that time. Point is when I bought it I was in my 20's and would have spent the "construction money" on strippers and partying. I missed out on one weekend. Joe

 

[sipowicz]

What's in my safe? None of your darn business!

 

[STCM(SW)]

I have some gold & silver but now lead is a metal that has some use!

Anybody seen where older Colt & S&W revolvers go down in value/price?
I haven't.
And I tried to make/mold a bullet out of silver, didn't work out well at all.....

 

[redlevel]

Sorry folks---do not take this wrong---but buying precious metals is really dumb.

1. Buying such is just speculating--you are doing just that---speculating- You can speculate on anything but it is a big gamble---there is no sure thing and you probably can't afford to lose.

2. It will not be a good fiat money type of exchange when the "s hits the fan." You can't split it up properly,----you can't eat it etc,----no one will want it----and.....

3. You'd be better off with LEAD---if you know what I mean. You can protect your goats/wheat, or, take somebody else's.

As for your #1, of course no one should spend money they can't afford to on silver or gold. No one should sink his entire retirement in metals. But 'scuse me, there is nothing dumb about diversifying and putting a small fraction of prep-disposable income on them.

As for #2, you obviously don't know what "fiat money" is. Precious and semi-precious money are the exact opposite of fiat money. They have intrinsic value, not a value that is decreed by the government. A dollar bill is worth something because the government says it is. A Silver Eagle is worth something because of its silver content. Also, why can't you split it up? Silver dimes, quarters, halves, and dollars are in small enough increments to be easily transported and used in trade. Study some history. There has always been some medium of exchange, and silver and gold have usually been the basic, most reliable medium.

As for #3, I already have so much LEAD that one end of my house, and a couple of outbuildings are settling into the ground. In fact, I believe I have enough lead (and the means to send it down range) to protect my goats, my wheat, AND my silver.

 

[msinc]

Sorry folks---do not take this wrong---but buying precious metals is really dumb.

1. Buying such is just speculating--you are doing just that---speculating- You can speculate on anything but it is a big gamble---there is no sure thing and you probably can't afford to lose.

2. It will not be a good fiat money type of exchange when the "s hits the fan." You can't split it up properly,----you can't eat it etc,----no one will want it----and.....

3. You'd be better off with LEAD---if you know what I mean. You can protect your goats/wheat, or, take somebody else's.

Well, I am 53 years old and have been retired for two years because I "speculated." Don't get me wrong...there was a whole lot of hard work before I could ever "speculate."
Gold and silver, etc. is a fairly stable, secure investment...gold and silver will always be gold and silver, so they will always be the "standard" to trade by. I don't think gold or silver has ever "skyrocketed" and I doubt it ever will so investors can forget about getting rich over night. The problem with long term secure investments are that when you need to do it {young enough to realize a decent growth} nobody can afford to at that age.
Gold and silver is not a bad thing, just make sure to understand that you are only interested in the metal at the market price...not some special released coin or ingot that is above market price because it has something engraved on it. Even newly issued U.S. mint coins and such...steer clear, you just want the metal itself.
Lastly, speculate within reason and intelligently....leave out the world falling apart, giant meteorite strikes, SHTF, etc.

 

[mooosie]

I think in a shtf scenario you could trade food stuffs ammo guns fishing equip very easy. But in some cases gold and silver will work when trading . If we get into high inflation , very possible , gold and silver will rise in value relative to the dollar. I don't have a lot but have some for things I can't trade for , maybe take to bank and trade for dollars. I do not but nations coins silver is silver I buy 1 oz. rounds. I don't buy gold because of the greater potential for loss because the price is so high per oz.

 

[Big Cholla]

IMHO, any product that has to be continually heavily advertised to sell is automatically a suspect 'investment'. But, the purchase of some gold coins and some 90% silver coins is historically a good form of insurance against run away inflation and/or total devaluation of our paper 'money'. I would regard the purchase of some gold coins and some silver coins as just prudent insurance against the total meltdown of our federal government. I too believe in investment of a wide spectrum of the 'lead' commodity for insurance and investment, but the holding of 'some' gold coins and some silver coins just makes good sense. ..........

 

[eyegots2no]

As for your #1, of course no one should spend money they can't afford to on silver or gold. No one should sink his entire retirement in metals. But 'scuse me, there is nothing dumb about diversifying and putting a small fraction of prep-disposable income on them.

As for #2, you obviously don't know what "fiat money" is. Precious and semi-precious money are the exact opposite of fiat money. They have intrinsic value, not a value that is decreed by the government. A dollar bill is worth something because the government says it is. A Silver Eagle is worth something because of its silver content. Also, why can't you split it up? Silver dimes, quarters, halves, and dollars are in small enough increments to be easily transported and used in trade. Study some history. There has always been some medium of exchange, and silver and gold have usually been the basic, most reliable medium.

As for #3, I already have so much LEAD that one end of my house, and a couple of outbuildings are settling into the ground. In fact, I believe I have enough lead (and the means to send it down range) to protect my goats, my wheat, AND my silver.

Good reply.

You are right about fiat money and what it really is, and I responded in haste.

I believe I was thinking in terms of the "confidence" aspect of of fiat money. I was thinking if a person would take your silver in exchange for his goats, it is because he is confident he can use the silver to go trade with someone else and that THEY would accept the silver in exchange for something they had.

If things were real bad (i.e. Alas Babylon) I do not think anyone would want the silver---can't eat, drink, shoot, grow, keep warm, etc. with it---so its value is realistically lil' different then our greenbacks--in that scenario.

I am glad you have some lead.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Remember we aren't buying this gold-silver to sell it.
I got 90% silver coins all the way up to silver dollars that I took out of circulation.
And I have my 'bracelet' too far'. It's about 2-3 ounces of 24 k gold.
I'm in it at about $40 an ounce. Ouch!

 

[Jessie]

No, gold and silver in that case will and always has been far different than any country's greenbacks.
That's the point.
Reference to post #30

 

[rburg]

just make sure to understand that you are only interested in the metal at the market price...not some special released coin or ingot that is above market price because it has something engraved on it.

Since we were young, maybe 45 or so years ago...I've been kind of investing in silver. No, nothing stupid like coins or ingots. I prefer Sterling that we can eat off of. Yes, silverware. At one time I even owned 5 different silverware patterns. One surely wasn't a great investment, I gave it to my DIL. Only because of that status, and because she needed a nice dressy service.

And I even sold one to a reseller for a few times what I paid. That was back when silver was selling at about $40 an ounce.

And there are still a few patterns left. Mainly I concentrated in expanding our primary pattern, the one we started buying when we were engaged. And with my memory not so hot, I'm trying to remember how many different sets we've merged into it. Lets just say I could feed way more people than I'm willing to. But the rule here is that I always try to pay spot price or less. 12 years ago I was paying $8.40 an ounce. I don't feel bad about the "engraving" that made the spoons Old Master.

When I can buy silver for what I consider a good price, I don't mind at all.
If its machined into works of art, that's OK too just so long as its priced at its metal value or less.

And I even purchase a little gold from time to time. The most recent was two gold chains. One I gave, as in no charge, to the same DIL who lost hers. And I don't care at all. Here's a hint: Most women like gold jewelry. And silverware. Do as you please and so will I.

 

[DWFAN]

You cannot do this with a doomsday attitude. Fear is a poor investor. I've netted way more in stamped US coinage than any other silver metal. Being a numismatists even before I new how to pronounce it I've been collecting coins. The hobby part of it was cut short by an insane increase in prices. Investors. At one time a mint 1909 VDBS could be had for cheap. The value of a 1909 S VDB cent is around $700-800 in Good, and upwards of $1,800-2,000 in Uncirculated grades. I'll stick to what I do.

DW

 

[ben_g1]

Off topic "penny" talk

I have 10 grandkids all young ones. To get them off their electronic gadgets for awhile, I'll pick up $100. worth of penny's at the bank and let them sort thru them picking out the 1982 and before dates.

It actually keeps them entertained, and they have fun doing it. They have jars of penny's saved. At some point Uncle Sam is going to stop making the penny ( it's nothing but an expensive nuisance ) and when they do you will be able to melt them down the same as its legal to melt the 90% coinage now.

Where else can a young kid double or more their money having fun doing it .

 

[H Richard]

I seem to recall the same sales pitch bark a couple years ago when Gold was over $3000 p/oz and silver was past $45. Calculate what your "loss" would be at today's prices.

 

[msinc]

Here is an interesting thing that happened to me regarding gold...I once bought a bar of Nazi gold. I was told by the guy, "don't worry, it's Okay...it tested negative for arsenic." I didn't have a clue what he was talking about until I told this story to my dentist. He said "if gold tests positive for arsenic you might have to surrender some or all of it to Israel." Then I got what it was all about...gold fillings back in the day contained arsenic as an antibiotic.
Now, I don't know how true all this is, but it was interesting to me. The bar of gold was a full Kilo and had a little spot on the back of it where it ha been scraped on.

 

[hoc9sw]

At one time a mint 1909 VDBS could be had for cheap. The value of a 1909 S VDB cent is around $700-800 in Good, and upwards of $1,800-2,000 in Uncirculated grades. I'll stick to what I do.

DW

I used to find SVDB cents in rolls of pennies from the Post Office. My aunt would park me at a desk with $50 face worth of pennies to go through. I would then roll up the remnants, and take them to the bank to trade there. Rolls were marked so I wouldn't do them twice.

Back in the late 80s, early 90s, I lived overseas. Couldn't have much in foreign bank accounts, so would buy one English gold coin at $200 / ounce from a coin / stamp dealer friend on the occasional Saturday afternoon. They are off in a safe deposit box, which means if things fell completely apart, probably would not be able to get to them. But selling a few at $1k / ounce has covered a lot of cancer co-pays.

 

[Old TexMex]

A Fortune in Silver, LOST

Quite a few years ago, I surrendered around 200 lbs of silver ingots to the Mexican "authorities". This was near the old Chalchiquites mine, and it had been buried for what appeared to be many years.
My partner managed to get away with one bar, and when we got to Texas, we found it was zinc. Hard to say who the joke was on, but our Mexican counterparts had to carry more weight than we did. I still laugh when I think about the look on their faces.

I haven't been back to Zacatecas since then.....

 

[Horn]

Other Than Those On TV

I was wondering about somethin'. There are constant commercials on radio and TV of companies selling gold and silver. If the value of gold and silver is going to skyrocket soon like they always say, why do they pay William Devane tons of money (or gold) to get us to buy their's now?[/
The better choice in buying gold coins is a "Gold seller". You can Google ...like U.S government registered gold seller....or such.
Medium and large cities will have several. The gold coins can be purchased in 1/4 or 1/2 ounce besides the 1 ounce ones. Might better when selling__back to a gold buyer.
A bank will only give you the face value!
My advice don't buy those for circulation. (Kugerand) as they look like a new penny.
If our dollar winds up worthless a few gold coins could be nice__selling them for some country's money that is still good.
I've been considering this myself.
Worried. Our money is backed by only faith in our government and that's getting less and less.